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After New Line Cinema announced Cate Blanchett’s return to Middle Earth for ‘The Hobbit,’ I’m told that Orlando Bloom will likely be the next original cast member set for an encore. He’s near a deal to return as Elven archer Legolas. And it’s for more than a cameo, I’m told. I’d have expected them to first set Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Andy Serkis (Gollum) or Hugo Weaving (Elrond), whose characters figured in the book. But those talks have been arduous and aren’t completed yet.
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Yes, please, please, please!! I love Orlando, and I love Legolas. If this is true I’ll be the first in line to see it.
i deffinatley think that orlando needs to do this. he hasnt played in any major roles in years. i also think his fans need this. he basically dissapeared from the center of the earth.
An other question is WHO IS GOING TO PLAY ”SARUMAN” because he is definitely present at the White Council… Somebody heard something about that ????
Christopher Lee has signed on to reprise his role as Saruman from the ‘Lord of the Rings’ film trilogy. So there’s no need to worry. It has been confirmed.
Please don’t! Yes he is hot, but he is not in the book!! Don’t screw with the book, but that is my humble opinion…
If Legolas is to be added into the Hobbit movie….I hope it is a very small part. I don’t remember all about the book but don’t remember Legolas being mentioned in it. Though if he is to be in the movie….the original actor (Orlando Bloome) should play the part as he is a great actor and also was the first and original actor to play as Legolas.
I hate when movie sequels change actors or actresses from the original. It isn’t just the characters but the personality of how the people play the parts that make the movie win praise. If it changes, the sequels don’t seem or feel right and throw the minds of many audiences off as they expected a certain way just as they have seen before.
Good to see Bloom return to his finest role. I don’t remember Legolas in the Hobbit much, but whatever. This will have some nice continuity with the LOTR trilogy. Now to get Serkis and Sir Ian nailed down, and I’ll be a happy camper.
That’s because Legolas was not in the Hobbit. It is very probable that he was at the battle of five armies, he was just never mentioned in the text.
of course! he must reprise the role!!! he really deserves it and hes good at acting!!! many wants to see him again as legolas and i think he wont let us down!!!
He’s not in the books, but his father is. It makes sense for him to be around, at least. None of the elves are named in the Hobbit, so Legolas could have been at the Battle of Five Armies.
That’s because Legolas wasn’t IN the Hobbit, at all. Not even once. I loved Legolas’ character in LoTR but I think it’ll be a little weird for him to be in the Hobbit. I’m sure it will still be an excellent movie w/P. Jackson & I’m looking forward to seeing it but Legolas was not in the Hobbit so that’s why you wouldn’t remember him in it much, because he was never there
He wasn’t in the Hobbit at all. Tolkien hadn’t invented his character yet, but it’s obvious he was around during the events of the Hobbit (he’s at least 500 years old) so it would make sense to see him! I’m so glad he’ll be in it!
Hobbit movie without McKellan and Serkis? Not possible…
I’ll start the protests now – -please New Line — don’t let this happen!! You’re so close to not f***ing this up finally…
Meh, they’re just saving the announcement of those castings for later. I think Ian McKellen’s site has a little blurb about it, and how it starts filming in Feb. If they aren’t signed, Jackson can’t make the movie without them, really.
Why do people care if Andy Serkis returns?
His likeness was not seen. The voice of Gollum is easy to mimic. It doesn’t even have to be a perfect match since the story would have a much younger Gollum. Is the guy that portrayed Gollum in the animated Rankn-Bass production still alive? If so, why not give him a shot at it? Besides, there is little reason to spend more money than necessary. They are just going to use performance capture technology to produce a digital Gollum.
Perhaps, I am one of the few people on the planet that did not care who was in the Darth Vader costume. They used the voice of a different actor and when the character’s face finally was revealed, it was an entirely different actor. So… Other than paying someone a lot of money to walk like Darth Vader, what was the point? Loyalty? A commendable trait.
Yes, but all of Gollum’s facial expressions are done by Serkis, therefore it would not be the same character without him. I am completely with you on Vader though.
Interesting. Peter is obviously including much more into the films than I originally thought. Cool though, who doesn’t think Legolas is a cool character.
I thought it was interesting, in the commentary on the extended DVDs, when Peter Jackson (I think it was him) said that they were going on the premise that Legolas was around 500 years old. Hmmm. Not my conclusion (I’m thinking older), but I’m certainly glad Peter thinks he’s old enough to be in The Hobbit! Awesome!
Bloom is a terrible actor with zero boxoffice power. I can`t believe they are actually adding him because they are affraid that girls would sit these movies out without him. Even Pirates of the Caribbean 4 weren`t that stupid. He`s totally passe.
Bloom wasnt that bad in the trilogy and even though he as an
actor, isnt as popular as he was, the characer has boxoffice power.
Ok, so they don`t have confidence in The Hobbit story and characters`s boxoffice pull and judging by some posts here, people would rather see LOTR characters than original Hobbit ones. I wonder why they are making this movie, er, movies if they and fans are more interested in LOTR reunion than telling/watching The Hobbit story? Cash grab, sure. But they could`ve just named it some nice euphemism for LOTR Reunion instead of calling it The Hobbit since the focus obviously isn`t Bilbo (the Hobbit from the title) anymore.
Apparently you haven’t been paying attention to the news about it, because it is an adaptation of the Hobbit, but because The Hobbit is more a children’s book than the Lord of the Rings, and isn’t quite as dense, they are adding events that tie the story together from the appendices and other Tolkien works, to make things more clear.
I see your point in that I hope they don’t have to bend the story to insert his character where it doesn’t belong, but I also think it’s perfectly logical to have him play a little more than a cameo role in the film. He is the son of the Elven king that the dwarves run into in Mirkwood, so it makes perfect sense that he’d be around and playing an active role in things. Tolkien hadn’t written the LotR when he was writing the Hobbit, so that’s why he’s not directly mentioned, but I don’t see the problem with adding a few continity nods to solidify the story as a whole, especially for audiences who haven’t read the books. Continuity is a good thing, when not being beat into the ground. I think as long as they don’t overdo it it will be fine.
Get a grip man. Just because they may expand the Wood Elves story arch/details to include the Legolas character does not mean they would no longer be telling The Hobbit story, or that the focus of the tale would no longer be Bilbo. That’s just ridiculous…
Sounds like you just dont like Bloom to me.
Couldn’t agree more. The Hobbit is one of the greatest childrens adventure tales of all time. Let it stand on it’s own, don’t bog it down trying to tie it into LOTR. If Legolas is in the movie he should just be standing in the background if anything.
Actually, Addison, if you had followed Orlando’s career, he is everything but passé. He’s just refused to do those box-office movies that lack of quality. He’s been more into independent movies lately and has even gathered quite a lot of great critics for Sympathy for Delicious and The Good Doctor.
If you are one of those movie-goers that focus on big productions only then you can’t really judge Orlando’s talent. And a terrible actor? Go watch Chuck Norris movies to see a terrible actor. Sorry.
How did he get great comments from The Good Doctor have they screened this or shown a trailer anywhere? Heard great things about TGD, and “heard” trailer was going to be released at Toronto Film Festival, but did not.
Also rumors going around it will be at Sundance, as Sympathy premiered last year. However I don’t see him going or premiering there as his baby is due the end of Jan in Australia… So curious about this movie, from the looks, everyone is talking Orlando, is in a totally different role in this film..Would love to hear if any one has info on it?
He’s not really a terrible actor, not that he’s that great either. He was great in LoTR because(this is only MY OPINION)he was practically new and enthusiastic, AND the rapport and closeness he had with the other LoTR cast helped a lot in complimenting each other in the movie. After LoTR, he seems to have gotten very self-conscious when shooting a movie and it kinda shows in his woodeness, like he’s trying too hard. Anyways, he seems more ego nowadays than anything else.
I dunno, I’m a little split on this, I loved Legolas in LoTR but I think having him in the Hobbit and playing a major role, would somehow diminish Thranduil’s role in it and I’d really love to see big bad Thranduil in action.
Well since they go to the court of Legolas’s father, and those forces are in the battle of the five armies it would certainly make since for Legalos to be featured in some manner. And the character is an immortal, and has been around for a very, very long time.
It will be curious to see if they use the character of Aragorn, who is also alive during this time, and living in the north as a Ranger (which is where the battle of the five armies occur). As a half bread (though very diluted, he has an extended life (was I believe in his eighties during the Lord of the Rings).
They can’t use Aragorn. According to Tolkien’s chronology, if you do the math, he was 12 at the time of that battle, and living in Rivendell. Sorry.
In the books, yes. In the films, no. In the film of THE TWO TOWERS we learn that Aragorn is 84, and the start of THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING says it’s 60 years since Bilbo finds the Ring (they eliminate the 17-year gap between Gandalf leaving the Shire and returning, reducing it to a few weeks). As such, Aragorn in the film version of THE HOBBIT would be 24.
Whether they’d recast or do that ‘de-aging CGI’ thing on Viggo, I’m not sure, but certainly there is scope for Aragorn to appear in the film as an adult. Personally I hope he doesn’t. The story is being diluted by all these LotR cameos enough as it is.
That’s not true at all. Aragorn doesn’t age at the same rate humans do. Read the books.
At the moment of LOR Aragorn was 87… Bilbo the Hobbit takes place 60 years before so… Aragorn was 27 and already knew Gandalf and the grand mother of Arwen .. Galadriel
He was 87 in the War of the Ring, the events of the Hobbit, take place 77 years prior, soooo… probably not.
I have a sneaking suspicion that he may actually play Thranduil, legolas’s father!
That would make sense, but I am holding out for James Marsters or Jude Law to play the Elvenking… I hope, I hope, I hope
Jude Law. Elvenking. My life would be so complete. ;P
I feel kind of sorry for Orlando Bloom, to have gotten stuck with the Pirates tag. This might bring him back, or help make him type-cast forever. But if Legolas is going to be in the movie, then it has to be Orlando Bloom. But, really, I want to see the rest of the LOTR cast in the second movie as was originally presupposed.
They offically renounced the bridge idea and rightly so. A line has to be drawn somewhere when it comes to “reunion”. Out of LOTR characters who don`t appear in the book, Legolas and Galadriel make sense because they are Elves (long life,blah) and so would Arwen, Aragorn not so much considering that he was a child during the Hobbit events and Viggo Mortensen is 52-53 and looking not a day younger, while other characters haven`t even been born so they have no business in the movies, bridging or no bridging.
Please Please new line cinema. DO NOT write the characters for Galadriel and Legolas, they are not even mentioned in the book. So why new line cinema would you wirte them in?, for the sake of writing in characters people will remember from the LOTR. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Its decisions like this that will ruin the series.
Well… true. Neither Legolas nor Galadriel were in the original story but does that matter? In the adaption of LOTR-TTT the Elves went to Helm’s Deep which wasn’t originally so either. There are often changes from the original novel to an adapted screenplay and I would just call it author’s freedom. Why not adding a bit of one’s own ideas to an original, if it’s enriching a movie?
A reprise of both Cate Blanchett and Orlando Bloom would not help the movie become more successful in my opinion – it’s because of certain characters that film-fans embosomed, in this case the Elves from LOTR – and in my humble opinion besides Liv Tyler the only actors who actually came closest to Tolkien’s description of the Elves as the “beautiful, pure creatures” are Cate and Orlando. They would only enrich the Elven characters that were originally in The Hobbit – and since they are well-known like old acquaintances, this would be a nice side-effect.
Galadriel is part of the White Council. So while she is not a written character in The Hobbit, she has a role in opposing the Necromancer, which is what Gandalf was doing when he wasn’t with Bilbo and the Dwarves. Legolas is Prince of Mirkwood. Why wouldn’t he be at his father’s side in his own land? I wouldn’t forsee Jackson giving him a huge role, but he could have a strong part and not mess with the storyline.
you are right that Galadriel doesn’t appear explicitly, but she can be brought in if PJ decides to expand into the White Council attacking Dol Guldur, which actually happens during The Hobbit, as Gandalf explains near the end. Galadriel was part, and Saruman too! Personally I’d love the movie to start with Gandalf in disguise, finding Thrain in Dol Guldur, recovering the Map and key of Erebor, and finding out that Sauron is in fact recovering his strength. It would bring the two stories together nicely, I think (the dwarf revenge and the White Council story).
Aragorn never appeared in the battle of the 5 armies, at this time he was traveling between rohan/gondor in the southern lands fighting beside both Thengel of rohan and Ecthelion of Gondor. after a while he made his way to Lorien where he declared his love for Arwen. There are enough interesting characters in the Hobbit.
Mark Wood,
I did the math. Aragorn is like 10 years old during the events of The Hobbit.
He was born in year 2931 of the Third Age.
Hobbit takes place in 2941.
He was 14, I think, but he would have been living at The Last Homely House, so maybe he will make a cameo appearance as a troubled, scruffy teen.
In the books, yes. But what does that have to do with the films, which are on a different chronology and form a separate canon? In the film version of THE HOBBIT, Aragorn would be 24, regardless of what age he is in the book (in which he doesn’t appear anyway).
I believe P.Jackson and Co were bridging ‘The Hobbit’ and LOTR in their ‘Hobbit’ films with more LOTR appendix material -so while Aragon (Vigo) doesn’t feature in ‘the hobbit’ they could certainly show his movements post-’The Hobbit’ pre-LOTR doing things like aiding the elves/Gandalf, protecting the North and hunting down Gollum etc.
Er, movie is titled The Hobbit as in Bilbo the Hobbit, not Aragorn. There is no need for Aragorn`s adventures as the main plot or the side plot in these movies at all. Especially after that bomb Hidalgo that was designed as What would Aragorn spin off look like star vehicle for Viggo that didn`t pan out. Not to mention that the character was a child to young man in those timelines and the actor who played him in 52 years old now and obviously so. Sure, they cna use de-age CGI like Tron Legacy but that thing is just plain creepy. Doesn`t make anyone look like they used to, just like they had a really OTT facelift.
And what´s YOUR problem? Hidalgo did not have anything with LotR, and Viggo is not the kind of person who´d need or want something like you suggested, so please spare us these dim-witted wannabe-conspiracy theories.
Furthermore, if you had followed the development of the Hobbit movies during the past year, you´d know that they are not going to make the bridge movie, thus Aragorn won´t appear and there´s no need for you to be scared.
@pipwainwright – No Peter Jackson has already said he is not doing a ‘bridge’ movie as there was plenty of material in The Hobbit for two films.
… an interesting thought indeed… Not just adapting The Hobbit but using this to fill the “gap” between where The Hobbit ended and LotR began is quite a good idea in my opinion… To focus on The Hobbit only – sorry – would not really make two parts… *shrugs* Anyway, The Hobbit had a more child-book taste to me anyway and I did not really enjoy reading it. A film based on this story exclusively would most probably turn it into a movie for pre-school aged children… *lol*
I’d say – adapt The Hobbit and add more to it!
Sorry, but these films are going to SUCK. Its obvious Team Jackson have little faith in the scripts they have written, so now they’re shoehorning in as many LOTR characters as they can hoping that they can tempt back the audience. Next, Liv Tyler will be announced, they’ll shoehorn in Viggo Mortensen (even though he was a child at the time of the story, and not mentioned at all)…this is a trainwreck ready to happen. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if Elijar Wood and the rest of the original Hobbit quartet make appearances as well. Jackson has lost it, and these films will be as bad as the Star Wars prequels.
Legolas was never mentioned in The Hobbit, but I am sure he was living there in Mirkwood at the time Bilbo and the dwarves were there! And he must have joined in the Battle of the Five Armies, too. I look forward to seeing the Elves of Mirkwood, they were not ever visited in the LOTR movies.
I love the elves of mirkwood. i’m hoping they will stick bloom in even though he’s not in the book
Well, the character of Legolas was not even conceived when the Hobbit was written, and it makes sense for him to be there. And maybe it will take away the temptation to give us pretty boy dwarves.
They are not doing a bridge film (that idea was scrapped pretty early) – but what they are doing is portraying events around the same time as the events in The Hobbit – namely what the White Council are up to with regard the Necromancer – which incidentally will tie in nicely with later events. Therefore Galadriel, Radagast and Saruman all have a part to play – which doesn’t mean they are making stuff up – it was well documented by Tolkien. Legolas appearing in the Mirkwood and Battle scenes has always been a strong rumour as it is more than likely that he appeared in these scenes but as the Professor hadn’t invented him until LOTR then he obviously couldn’t have a name and therefore does not appear in The Hobbit book. By adding him and the other events (which are not fabricated by Jackson and Co) – he can keep true to the story and give us more than is in the book itself. I daresay there will also be flashbacks to Thror entering Moria and the other Battle outside East Gate among other things as they have two films to tell the story.
I have no problem with either Legolas or Galadriel being in the movies. One, both are old enough Legolas fits in well with his father’s court and the Battle of Five Armies, why would he not be there if he were alive? Jackson has said that he wants to interject more of the White Council and the decision to root out the Necromancer(aka Sauron) in the movies. Which means Galadriel would need to be in the movies and also the reason why Radagast would be casted. It will be interesting to see what he does with Saruman, as I think I read Christopher Lee saying he is getting too old to travel for extended periods at his age, but might be willing to do some footage closer to home.
Im really looking forward to these movies. As I understand it, theyre going to be filming only the story of the Hobbit, but they will include back story from the appendices etc as they did for LOTR. So they will fill out some of the bits we dont really get to see in the book itself. Im sure this will mean that we will see some of Gandalf’s journeying as he tries to find out which ring it is that Bilbo has found. That would certainly allow for Galadriel at least to appear. Based on the previous movies Im confident that Peter Jackson can manage to make these movies really worth watching.
I will be relieved firstly if they secure Hugo Weaving and Ian McKellen, secondly Andy Sirkis… I don’t mind them writing in Orlando Bloom & Kate Blanchette because they are plausible for that era, as long as it doesn’t derail the plot of The Hobbit.
Can we expect to have Gandalf’s (and the White Council’s) attack on Sauron to be included in the film?
That’s a good point at Tolkien’s work: everything is absolutely conected! They may show aragorn (as a kid) at rivendell, galadriel (possibly arwen?) at lorien (in the white council) and legolas at the wood party and at the halls of thranduil/battle.
Even they are not mentioned in the book itself, they were alive at that time, and really makes sense to cast them in the movies.
PS: i’d like to see elladan and elrohir (arwen’s brothers) D:
YESSSS. I have a suspicion that he’ll end up in the Hobbit sequal/LotR prequel rather than the actual Hobbit movie, though. That would make sense, considering the whole Gollum/Mirkwood thing. I don’t know how I would feel about him playing Thranduil.
YES!! Pleasee bring Orlando Bloom as Legolas.. I love him as an actor..Everyone will love it…
Orlando Bloom is he asking for a role? Is he so short of money that he now needs to ask to reprise a role? Peter please say no! I have seen him in a variety of roles from Midsommer Murders through to his movies roles including Pirates. He only plays one character…Orlando Bloom